R
Taking your service doors for granted is the biggest mistake your business can make. High-speed doors create operational efficiencies, keep employees safe, and reduce costs.
Before we look at some of the advantages of these specialized doors, let’s cover the basics.
High-Speed Door Basics
High-speed doors are also referred to as high-performance doors. They serve the basic function of a barrier in commercial settings. But their most important purpose is to open and close quickly.
Other characteristics of these doors are…
- power operated
- sliding or rolling
- horizontal or vertical orientation
- high cycle (75-100 open/close per day)
- breakaway features
- minimal maintenance
High-performance doors, in general, allow quick movement throughout your facility.
They also have specific functions used in industries like food processing, logistics, and high-tech. Among these functions are weather resistance, security, environmental containment, and pressure stability.
Basics are great but they don’t tell the whole story. High-performance doors provide many advantages for your business. One of the seven below might be the make or break advantage your company’s been looking for.
7 Amazing Advantages of High-speed Doors
High-speed doors are versatile enough for use in auto dealerships, food processing plants, and semiconductor manufacturing facilities. Their unique construction and operation allow them to fit specific needs.
Let’s look at these advantages and see how they impact your business.
Increased Security
Standard high-speed doors have built-in security functions. Their quick open/close times cut the risk of employees entering non-authorized areas of your facility.
Rigid construction doors, made with rugged aluminum slats, are used for exterior applications. They’re found in auto dealerships, hotels, and convention centers.
Some doors have no rubber gaskets between slats. This eliminates intrusion by slicing them open.
Intruders can’t get through the slats which means they stay outside, where they belong.
Keep Employees Safer
There are many reasons why businesses use high-speed doors to segregate areas of their facilities. Some areas work with corrosive or noxious materials. In others, employees produce sparks while welding.
Still in others, extreme heat or cold is necessary. Quick operation, strong seals, and durable materials keep employees and visitors safe.
The doors themselves are flexible. Because the door curtain has no rigid parts, damage and injury after collisions are reduced. On rigid style doors, transparent panels limit vehicle collisions when entering and exiting.
Some doors have intuitive signaling technology to warn employees of approaching vehicles on the opposite side.
Reduced Loss of Heating and Cooling
There are four primary features that promote energy efficiency.
- tight seal
- quick opening and closing
- durability
- wind resistance
High-speed doors seal very well on all four sides to keep hot and cold where they belong. The quick open and close cycles limit hot and cold air escaping.
Their durability comes from a design that is more damage-resistant than conventional doors. Conventional door issues like bent slats allow heat and cold to escape.
Certain high-performance doors are wind resistant up to a set number of miles per hour. This feature is very useful for keeping cold winds from affecting warmer areas.
Doors can also be equipped with insulation curtains that limit condensation and ice build-up.
This is especially important in auto dealership service departments where customers drive straight into the service bay from outside. Cars move in and out of the service bay all day, even in inclement weather.
Airflow Prevention
In some businesses, like those that need clean rooms, airflow is key. Dust and airborne debris can damage the manufacture of some products. They can also damage heating and cooling systems.
High-performance doors control airflow and reduce risk. Use them in pairs to form airlocks in pressure-sensitive environments.
Hygiene standards are another reason to control airflow in operations like food processing. Food manufacturing facilities use high-performance doors to separate waste disposal areas from the assembly line.
Increased Productivity
High-performance doors fast open/close cycle saves time and increases productivity. Products, equipment, and people move throughout your facility with ease.
Businesses where material handling and transport is a priority, thrive on volume processing and smooth logistical flows. High-performance doors allow these businesses to maximize productivity.
High-performance doors work great at auto dealerships, too. Customers are impressed when the service bay door opens many times faster than a traditional door. The faster customers can pull in and park on the service drive, the faster they can get on with their busy days.
Easier to Clean and Maintain
In the food processing sector, doors must be easy to clean and disinfect. High-speed doors with PVC curtains and stainless steel side covers are made to withstand heavy use of cleaning agents.
When conventional doors are knocked off track, a service call is usually the only option. High-performance doors feature a self-reinserting curtain that prevents downtime after collisions. Opening and closing the door returns the curtain into its side guides.
In the event a rigid door’s aluminum slats are damaged, replacement is simple. Some repairs take 15 minutes, or less. With proper security measures in place, the door can still operate while waiting for a technician.
In cold climates or environments, de-icing doors and guides are time-consuming. Equip your high-performance doors with heated side guides, insulated curtains, and defrosting systems. These options make de-icing a non-issue.
Finally, doors equipped with patented push/pull drive technology require little maintenance. The design purposely limits wear on moving parts.
Cost Savings
A standard rolling steel door, in a 2m high opening, opens and closes in 11 seconds. A high-speed security door, in the same opening, opens and closes in 2 seconds. This increased speed creates a number of cost savings, like the following:
- reduced HVAC maintenance costs from better environmental controls
- reduced heat and air conditioning costs
- reduced repair costs from collisions
- reduced workers compensation costs from fewer door-related injuries
These massive advantages make it easy for high-performance doors to revolutionize your operation.
An Open and Shut Case
Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves. But high-speed doors are no joke.
They provide so many benefits that pay for themselves. A 21st-century business literally cannot afford to go without them.
RS Door offers high-performance doors from Dynaco, featuring their patented push-pull drive technology.
To see all the advantages we’ve talked about today, click the link for a free high-speed door estimate.
